Stay
by chaneldancegrl
Summary: Artemis has left the team, but does the Team really believe that? And what can Wally do to get her back? Drabble. Teen for some mild language. Spitfire


Title: Stay

Summary: Artemis has left the team, but does the Team really believe that? And what can Wally do to get her back? Drabble

A/N: I don't know what this is….. This is just me writing with a vague idea of Wally and Artemis meeting up and seeing where it ends up. I think this is the longest "one shot" that I've written. Well, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own YJ! I wish it was next Saturday already, but I won't watch the different language episodes, so no spoilers please!**

Wally West checked his watch. _2:17 _A swear slipped past his lips, earning him a stern look from the elderly cashier as she handed him bag of candy and change. He promptly ignored this and sped walk out of the store and onto the busy sidewalk, resisting the urge to speed to his destination in the open. Luckily, he found an alley away from the prying eyes of the public in the city. Here, he sped through the alleys getting as close to his end point while staying out of sight. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the sunlight and looked around before crossing the street and walking to the park. Wally rubbed tired eyes underneath the sunglasses he wore. Truthfully, he didn't like them but she had requested that he wear them for their meetings. He looked around even though he knew it was useless; he always tried to find her before she came upon him stealthily, but he never could.

_Is she going to show? _That doubt always played in his mind for these events and he checked his watch again. _2:19_ which meant he was on time. If she was going to show up, she'd do it soon. She never came out if he was even a minute late. He'd learn that the hard way. Quickly, he scoured the grass around _their_ bench, looking for small arrowhead rock, her symbol if she couldn't make it due to a mission or something. Nothing but some old lollipop wrappers.

With a sigh of relief, he sat down and proceeded to fidget with the plastic bag in his hand. It had been a month since he had heard from her, almost a year for the rest of the team, except for probably Robin. If anyone else found out that he had been meeting up with her for the past couple of months, they'd hide all his food until they got to see her too. She didn't like to interact with any of them after leaving the team. She gave them the excuse as not wanting to be a hero anymore. That despite her attempts, her history with the Shadows was always calling her and she didn't want to risk choosing between families. Everyone on the team knew it was complete and utter bullshit. She would have never betrayed them, or him, despite her pedigree and upbringing. Wally would've run after her, but Batman's firm grip on his shoulder stopped him. Never before had he wanted to knock the daylights out of the Dark Knight then at that moment. The computer announced her departure and the speedster tore his arm out of the grasp and stalked to his room.

Upon entering his designated room in the cave, and because he couldn't find anything else, threw his pillows against the wall repeatedly. Eventually the Boy Wonder came in and just watched the speedster get out his frustration and anger. Only when Wally stopped did Rob speak up. "She has her reasons KF."

"Well, they're bad ones" fumed Wally as he flopped face first onto the bed. "Does she honestly expect us to believe that lie? She would never betray us like that, especially for Sportsmaster."

"You ever think she lied about that too? Come on, you have a brain; use it."

Wally mulled over this. Artemis was a terrible liar, even she knew that. So why would she lie and hurt everyone on the team by doing so? She basically admitted that the team was her family, why hurt them. The idea dawned on Wally. Protection and self sacrifice. Artemis was obsessed with that. She'd give anything to protect those she cared about, including shoving them away from her. She'd sacrifice her own safety and happiness for them; she's proven that during the simulation, covering the team's backs when they were unaware of the danger behind them. Sportsmaster and Cheshire were baddies alone, but they also had connections. Who really know how far and deep those connections went? They must've been pretty dangerous for Artemis to leave the team. How could he be so blind to her thought process? It should've been obvious.

"Ugh" he groaned "She didn't"

"But she did" Rob reminded him. "And Bats gave specific orders to leave her alone."

"You don't honestly expect any of us to follow that do you?" Wally raised an eyebrow at his best friend who just shrugged.

"Call me crazy, but I actually agree with him on this."

"Dude!" Wally shot up and got in his face. "Are you crazy? Why would you say that? She belongs here with me! I mean us! Everybody! She needs to come home!"

Rob stood up too, managing a stern look even with glasses on. "Because you get like this! You care about her! I know it and so does everyone else except for probably Artemis. You'd yell and scream at her and she'd yell and scream right back! You'd push her away even farther from us! She'd probably disappear forever if she wanted to. Then she'd never come back! We can't risk it! And if you caused that, you'd never forgive yourself." Robin took a breath to calm himself down. "You need to let her figure this out on her own. It's what she wants. When she's ready, she'll open up to you again." And with that, the Detective's protégée gave his best friend one last look before walking out.

Wally slumped against the bed and rubbed his eyes with his hands. Fine. He'd wait, something he wasn't used to, being a speedster and all. He just hoped he wouldn't have to wait long.

It had been four months after her departure that Wally saw her again. They were long and boring. There was no one to argue with. No one to make him smile or call him out on his BS every waking second of the day. Sure the others teased him here and there, but they still held back. Except for maybe Rob, but he was the exception.

She hadn't contacted anyone on the team, but Wally had his suspicions that she was still connected to Batman. Sometimes when Wally was in a really sour mood, Robin would just remind him that Artemis was just fine. When he questioned how he knew this information, Rob would just shrug and say "She's Artemis." Despite his goofy antics, Wally West wasn't stupid. Batman was keeping an eye on her at least, but neither of the Bat clan members were going to divulge secrets anytime soon. So he was forced to settle and be thankful for any news of the archer, no matter how vague it might be.

Imagine his surprise then, to see her while he was running along the West Coast, looking for a change in scenery. He had his Kid Flash stealth gear on and was running through San Diego when he came upon a scuffle in an alleyway. A group of thugs had teamed up against a young couple. The girl had pressed herself against the wall, swinging a garbage can lid while her boyfriend _tried_ to hit the laughing thug repeatedly. Eventually the burly man punched the boyfriend in the stomach, knocking him to the floor gasping for air as he looked to his now terrified girlfriend being surrounded by the group.

Just as Kid Flash was about to announce his arrival with a trademark superhero phrase, a muted _thwack_ resounded in the air and within seconds the head honcho was electrocuted. The source of electricity was the arrow lodged in his upper right shoulder. The man fell the ground, unconscious, and his cronies looked around frantically, temporarily forgetting the frightened girl. Another thwack announced the arrival of another arrow, but instead of hitting another bad guy, landed in the middle of their circle. The thugs exchanged nervous glances. Then, a foggy smoke appeared, spreading throughout alleyway. Kid Flash held his breath while the muggers coughed and tried to cover their mouths before they all dropped to the ground. The hero also noticed the girl was now slumped against the wall, unconscious. He stepped away from the scene, trying to get a deep breath in to help his metabolism work whatever small traces of the smoke he'd gotten into his system. When Wally looked back at the scene with an intention to bring the civilians to spend the night at the hospital he found a shadowed figure rummaging through the pockets of the now tied up thugs.

_This is the mysterious vigilante_, he thought to himself. _Some hero, he knocked out the innocent people. Better take him down too_. Again, his hero job was interrupted as he saw the shadow removing weapons from the crooks. They were emptying the guns and throwing the knives deep in the recesses of the ally. _So maybe this wasn't a criminal after all_. Suddenly, a rat scurried across his foot. "Ugh, ew" he muttered in disgust and stepped back, knocking over a garbage can thus making a huge commotion. Within seconds, the mysterious vigilant had a crossbow aimed in his direction and was stalking towards the fallen speedster. It was then, Kid Flash realized, that it was girl with a dangerous air about her. _Great, another girl with an archery complex that could kick my ass. _This thought rang through is mind and realization dawned on him. He quickly stood up, the arrow following him, as he stared into a pair of familiar stormy eyes. "Arty, it's me." The figure flinched at the sound of his voice and stopped walking towards him.

Wally took this moment to take in her new appearance. If it wasn't for the arrows and her eyes he probably wouldn't have recognized her. So much was different about her. Unlike her old costume, she was completely covered from head to toe in black spandex, save for small nose, eyes, and mouth holes. Her green arrow symbols were replaced with orange tiger stripes running up and down her sides. What was even more peculiar was that he couldn't see her hair. Wally could've sworn her hair was so blonde it could be seen miles away, even joking that she needed stealth gear for it. Now, it was covered up under her cowl. That shouldn't have been possible with her abundance of hair. Despite all these changes, he was glad he could still see some similarities. The quiver attached to her back, crossbow at the ready, even the ease she took down the crooks with proved that this girl of the shadows standing in front of him was Artemis. "You know, your teammate. Kid Flash, Kid Dork, Baywatch, geek, Kid Malingerer," He prompted after not receiving a vocal response. She opened her mouth, trying to respond.

The battered boyfriend groaned as he came around and slowly sat up. "What's going on?" Wally's eyes flickered to his general direction, but found Artemis wasn't where he last saw her. Instead, she was climbing over the roof of the building and had started to run. Wally shook his head. _Does she really think she can outrun me?_ He chuckled before telling the other guy to take himself and his girlfriend to the nearest hospital for the night and ran off after the archer.

After scaling the apartment, Kid Flash looked around, saw her jump down to a lower rooftop, and sped after her. It didn't take too much effort to catch her. She had tried to slide down one of the metal fire escape ladders, not realizing that it didn't reach the ground. When she slipped, Wally was at the bottom and caught her in his arms. "Now what was it that you were trying to prove by running away?"

She struggled against his arms. "You have exactly 3 seconds to put me down Kid Doofus before I rip your arms off" she hissed with her trademark voice. Wally couldn't help but smile at the confirmation.

"That's my girl. And as I seem to recall you've enjoyed being in my arms before."

"Oh grow up! I'm not your girl! Now Put. Me. Down." She replied, adding a venomous glare. Wally complied and set her down, still smiling.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice less angry and more annoyed.

"Well, world peace wouldn't be bad. I'd also love an all-you-can eat buffet everywhere I go," he replied with a grin.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Good luck with that Flash boy."

"I wouldn't mind you coming back to the cave" he added, all traces of teasing gone as he looked at her. It was about time he stopped beating around the bush. He was a speedster for crying out loud.

Artemis looked startled, but then recovered. "I told you. I was done with the superhero business."

Kid Flash just shook his head."That's a lie. You and I both know it. You were always bad at it. What do you call destroying those crooks' weapons back there? You're still one of the good guys. Why don't you just admit it and rejoin? You'd be welcomed back in a heartbeat."

Her gaze softened, proving to Wally that she wanted to go back to them. However, her posture remained rigid when she answered "It just doesn't work like that."

"We can take care of ourselves, you know. And if worse comes to worse we have the League for back-up."

"The League's not always going to be there. Or did you forget that simulation or when the adults were stuck in an alternate dimension?" She turned away to stalk off.

He grabbed her wrist, keeping her there. "Then we stick together and fight through it. We're superheroes; it's what we do. We work together as a team to save the day."

She sighed and shook her head. "I just can't afford to think like that." She tugged against his hold, but he wouldn't let go. "Wally, stop it." Her voice still contained an edge, but it was softened, like a dull knife worn from too much strenuous use.

Kid Flash tried another tactic. "Everyone misses you." He held her glance. "Kaldur probably doesn't miss us fighting, but he misses your deep conversations with him. Robin's missing his troll partner. M'gann and Zatanna both miss their best friend. Who else are they going to drag to go shopping with?" A ghost of a smile crossed Artemis's face. Encouraged, he pressed on. "Don't even get me started on Supey. He needs a sarcasm and flirt teacher. He keeps using the same lines over and over. I tried to teach him some of my moves but he just walked away every time I brought it up." Artemis rolled her eyes at that and the speedster smiled. The city version of silence hung in the air, complete with random slamming doors, honking, scurrying of critters, even a faint police siren. As the moment wore on, Wally watched as her smile began to fall.

She swallowed, slightly nervous. "Is that all?"

_This is it, KF. Don't screw this up._ "Roy misses his archery pal, no one to compare arrow ideas with now. He still wants to be independent from GA." And he chickened out.

Artemis's eyes hardened and she stepped away from him. "Thanks for letting me know. Tell the team I'm sorry." She turned on her heel. Again, Wally chased after her.

"That's not what I meant!" she turned her head to raise an eyebrow at him. "No! I mean Roy misses talking to you, sort of. But I didn't say what I wanted to say. What I think you want me to say. I'm not good at these things. And then there's you being all…you!" Kid Flash pulled on his hair exasperatedly. "You drive me crazy. I don't know what to say to you because I don't know how the hell you'll react. One minute you're nice, the other you're all snarky, and mean. Then you become all tough and bad ass and I don't know which one I like more because I like you. Oh Einstein, you probably think I'm even more of an idiot than usual. But that's okay right now because I don't really care. The team misses you, GA misses you, but what I'm really trying to say is that _I_ miss you. And I don't care if you think I'm psycho. Okay, maybe a little-"

Wally's babbling was cut off by his lips becoming busy with Artemis's. It wasn't one of those all consuming, fiery kisses filled with a battle for dominance. It wasn't hot and steamy leaving both of them gasping for air against the wall (not that he would've minded). Instead, it was soft and sweet. Her lips were gentle against his as they moved slowly with his. Wally's arms slowly wrapped around her waist as Artemis returned by encircling her own around his neck. While their first kiss wasn't ideal (it was in an abandoned alleyway for crying out loud), neither was their relationship up to this point. They had teased one another, fought with and against each other, been teammates and saved the others. No it wasn't how the romance novels would've painted it, but it was what they both needed. In that kiss, Wally learned that messages can be sent without words and hers rang loud and clear. She returned his feelings and even missed him during her departure. Too soon, the kiss was over and Artemis pulled back with a soft sigh.

"That's probably the nicest way you've ever told me to shut up," said Wally with a smirk.

Artemis rolled her eyes but smiling all the same. "Don't get used to it Flash Boy. Sometimes you need someone to set you in your place."

"Does this mean you're coming back?" Hope crept back into his voice.

Slowly, Artemis shook her head. "I'm sorry Wally. I really am. But you admitting your feelings for me aren't enough to make me stay."

To say Wally was heartbroken would be an understatement. "But you- we just- and you said- You can't just do that to a guy! What the hell was that then?" His voice started growing louder. Robin was right; he couldn't help it. Here he thought everything was going to turn out perfect. He'd bring Artemis back to the cave, everyone would celebrate with lots of food, he and Artemis would have their love-hate but more loving relationship, and they would all save the world together. Now she was stomping all over that dream and flushing it down the toilet. "I don't understand!" he shouted and Artemis smacked her hand over his mouth.

"Will you shut up for a second? That's the point! There's so much you don't understand," she hissed. The siren from earlier wailed again, getting closer, probably to take care of the goons, but Artemis became anxious. "I have to go." Wally opened his mouth to reply but she cut him off. "I'll explain later. Just-meet me at the northwest corner of the park in San Diego in two weeks. Come alone. Then I'll see what I can tell you. I promise" She turned away, but hesitated. In a second, the speedster felt a quick peck on his cheek before watching his favorite archer disappear into the night. He didn't run after her because she'd probably kick his ass. And he couldn't risk chasing her away again. She promised, and he was just going to have to live with that.

Wally felt a firm hand on his shoulder and looked up, blinking against the sun. When he could finally see again, his eyes met firm grey ones as wisps of short dirty blonde hair tickled his face as she leaned over. He shivered slightly and tucked the strand behind her hair. "Hi," he murmured.

"Hi Wally," Artemis smiled slightly and he saw her gaze move to the plastic bag. "Are those for me?"

"Reese's peanut butter cups. Your favorite. I brought extra so you won't kill me for having some."

She quickly snatched the bag out of his hands. "We'll see about that." When Wally's face turned into a pout she merely rolled her eyes. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

Wally got up and followed her, thankful that she was much less closed off than their first meeting. Back then, she had appeared silently in front of him and hadn't said a word for a half hour until they had reached a dock. Now, they made small talk as they walked down a park path, deeper into a forest. Talking about the team seemed to ease the both of them. So far, the team had been successful in most missions save the normal bumps and bruises along the way. As they moved away from prying eyes and ears, Artemis began to talk about her latest feats as well.

"Have you faced any big time Bat villains?"

Artemis nodded and stuck her hands into her jeans' pockets. "Some, but he doesn't trust me as much as he does Rob obviously. I mostly patrol Sand Diego. Sometimes other Leaguers drop by to help a particularly nasty case, but I've been on my own for a while now. I'd ask to stop being babysat, but I owe Bats a lot for his generosity with my Mom and I. Plus it's nice to see GA every once in a while too."

Wally took this all in. During their first meeting, he kept trying to come up with ridiculous explanations for her disappearance, he wasn't even close until Artemis finally broke down and told him how Batman had helped her out. Admittedly, he wasn't happy when he found out that Bats and Robin had known about Artemis all this time. Turns out, Sportsmaster had threatened to hunt down Artemis, her mom, even her sister Cheshire, or Jade, and the team for her betrayal against the Shadows. Artemis had quickly told the GA and Batman about it, and they moved her and her mom to a League safe house. All had seemed well until Artemis got a video sent of Cheshire beaten senseless. Even though they didn't talk any more, Artemis couldn't handle seeing her sister getting tortured, nor did she want to see that happen to anyone on the team. In order to save her family, Artemis resigned from the team. Wally had tried to not pound the air, glad to know that his theories regarding the archer's disappearance were correct.

However, Artemis was Artemis; she couldn't stand not helping people when she could save them. Batman had come to her again, knowing her dilemma, offered her a deal: change her identity and take up a new hero mantle, but only if she reported to him and occasionally did undercover mission for him. She said he wanted to keep an eye on her, to protect her, Robin, and the team. He kept Paula Crock in a League safe house, and got Robin to erase any record of Artemis Crock. She changed the colors on her uniform, got several new bows, even cut her hair. It was silly, but Wally had always loved her hair. They way it shimmered in the sunshine and flowed behind when she walked. It didn't make any sense for her hair to be so blonde or that long, but it was just like her. He would have these strange urges to run his fingers through it to see if it was a soft as it looked. However Wally's logical mind placed visions of Artemis ripping his own hair out if he ever touched hers. He could always spot Artemis in a crowd because of her hair, and that was why she had to cut and dye it. Now her hair looked normal, blended in with other people; it didn't match Artemis at all. But as far as Sportsmaster was concerned, Artemis had disappeared off the face of the earth and wasn't interfering with any Shadow or Light business. That was another term Artemis and Batman agreed on, no limelight. She was completely undercover. Due to her new anonymity, she was able to take down unsuspecting villains under the guise of Tigress.

Wally came out of his thoughts when they stopped in front of a big oak tree. Artemis began to climb up using the sturdy branches.

"What are you doing?" Wally asked skeptically.

"Climbing. Ever heard of it? It's pretty simple; you pull yourself up using your arms and your legs until you get as high as you can in the tree. And if you're smart, you won't sit on a branch that'll break under you and leave you flat on your ass."

"I know what climbing is!" fumed the speedster. "Why are we doing it?"

"Because it's fun. It's what normal people do. When was the last time you scaled something without keeping watch, sneaking up on someone, or trying to see secret base?" She got halfway up and looked down. "Are you coming or what?"

Wally sighed and quickly followed her up. Together they continued to climb up as high as the sturdy branches reached. "Now what?"

"Will you shut up for once, Kid Mouth?" She wacked his head, which he rubbed, annoyed. "Just relax and enjoy the peace. You talking 24/7 gets old fast." Artemis swung her feet in the air, watching as the sun began to set. Wally sat in silence, taking in the peaceful night. The birds were chirping their good nights, squirrels clambered to get home, and the wind gently rustled through the branches. He turned to study the girl next to him. Her face was peaceful as she turned up to the remaining rays of sun and light breeze. He couldn't remember that last time she looked so relaxed. She may have looked different with her shorter hair and black clothes, but she was still Artemis. Her challenging grey eyes, stubborn personality, her snarky comments, and checkered past would never disappear, just like her.

Artemis sighed and laid her head on Wally's shoulder, eyes closed and just relishing the peaceful moment. Wally smiled and brushed the hair out of her face. Looking back, he felt silly worrying that he would lose her. No matter how hard she or anyone else tried, he would always have her around. Maybe someday Artemis would have enough confidence to come back to the team, when she was certain those she cared about would be safe. But for now, Wally wrapped an arm around her shoulders, happy to have his Artemis back, even if it was for moments as short as this.

**A/N: Again, I don't know what this is. It started off with Artemis and Wally having a confrontation in an alleyway, but I didn't want to be like the other stories, then it moved on to this. I didn't really have an idea of where to go with this, which is probably obvious, but I think I sort of like how it turned out. This was supposed to be a one shot, but maybe I'll add on another chapter of Artemis rejoining the team. I don't know. What do you guys think? Anyway, it's really helpful for my writing if you leave a review. Tell me what you like, what you didn't like, whatever you want. Just no extreme flames. Thanks so much!**


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